“It’s either you are in APC or you are out” – Lawal fires at Wike 

Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has challenged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to clarify his political position over his involvement in the Rainbow Coalition, saying he cannot simultaneously support the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other political parties.

Lawal made the remarks in an interview with Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The governor’s comments come amid growing debate within the ruling APC over the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party political platform associated with efforts to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.

Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has repeatedly said he supports Tinubu’s return to office in 2027.

He has, however, maintained that his support for the President does not mean the PDP should abandon its participation in governorship and legislative elections.

He has also insisted that the Rainbow Coalition is not an APC arrangement but a platform for mobilising support for Tinubu across party lines.

Lawal said the position of APC governors was straightforward, insisting that political actors should make their party allegiance clear.

“Our message is very very clear, be on one side, you can’t be on two sides. If you are in APC, please come out and support the APC, not you are supporting APC here and you are supporting some other political parties somewhere else,” he said.

The governor said APC governors would maintain their position regardless of Wike’s explanation of the coalition.

“We maintain our stand and the message is very clear. He can speak, he can say whatever he wants to say, but our position has been very clear, APC all the way from head to toe,” Lawal said.

Asked whether the governors were effectively asking Wike to join the APC, Lawal responded in the affirmative.

He added that he intended to raise the matter with President Tinubu when the President returns from his working vacation in France.

“It’s something I will discuss with the President when he comes back. Let there be a clear line where this guy belongs to. It’s either he is in APC or he is out, simple. So I go with my brothers, the governors.”

The dispute reflects a broader disagreement over how support for Tinubu’s presidential bid should relate to party politics at other levels of the 2027 elections.

Wike has argued that politicians can retain their membership of other parties while supporting Tinubu for president. In an earlier statement, he said the PDP remained free to field candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections, while his own priority was to mobilise support for Tinubu’s presidential bid.

The FCT minister has also rejected suggestions that the Rainbow Coalition was established to weaken or destabilise existing political parties. He said the coalition was designed to bring together politicians from different parties who support Tinubu’s re-election.

Wike has previously described the emerging political arrangement as a broader “Rainbow Coalition” and cited examples of politicians belonging to different parties while backing the President at the presidential level.